Home Secretary Theresa May is reported to be planning changes to the test taken by foreign nationals who wish to become British citizens. The Life in the United Kingdom test was introduced by Labour in 2005. The Sunday Times says immigrants will be told "historically the UK is a Christian country". The revised version will focus less on the practicalities of daily living in Britain and require more knowledge of British history and achievements. Inventions and discoveries The paper says immigrants will also have to learn the first verse of the national anthem before they can become UK citizens. Mrs May is understood to have scrapped sections of the test which dealt with claiming benefits and the Human Rights Act. Instead potential immigrants will be expected to learn about Byron, the Duke of Wellington, Shakespeare and other historical and cultural figures. The new version of the handbook, expected to be issued in the autumn, will include sections about key battles, such as Trafalgar, and British inventions and discoveries. A Home Office spokesperson told the BBC: "Putting our culture and history at the heart of the citizenship test will help ensure those permanently settling can understand British life allowing them to properly integrate into our society." The handbook is the basis of a 45-minute test which potential citizens can take at one of 90 centres around the UK. Sultana Razia, who came to the UK from Bangladesh five years ago, has already failed the test once in her quest to become a British citizen. "If you want to live here, you have to know all the information - all the rules and the way of living here and the culture here," she told BBC News. "The test is important, it's quite hard but it's important." Alp Mehmet, vice chairman of the Migration Watch think tank, welcomed the planned changes. "People are almost encouraged to see what they can get out of the country rather than what they can contribute," he told BBC News. "And I think that the emphasis moving towards people having an understanding of the country they're joining effectively - becoming citizens of - is absolutely right." But Habib Mirza, who runs citizenship courses at BSGS College, in Whitechapel, east London, said proposed changes would represent "a massive barrier for anybody who wants to settle down in the United Kingdom, the vast majority of whom cannot speak English anyway". "People who do speak English, who are born and brought up here, we would find it very, very difficult to pass so how will they pass?" And he said asking people from non-Christian backgrounds to learn the National Anthem "might be against their religious beliefs, it might be against their personal beliefs" and it was therefore "unfair". Source:- http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18662531
The news item only mentions that the new book will be published in the Autumn. However, what is not yet clear is acually when it's going to replace the existing one to form the core of the Life in UK Test. Personally, I suspect there will be some transitional period of notice, just like the introduction of the B1 level English Language test for the ILR. Currently the Life in UK test has no expiry, so I guess it's reasonable to suggest that if you've already achieved a pass certificate no-one should have to retake it just because it has changed. That's only my personal opinion. When the Life in UK Test has previously been changed/updated candidates were actually allowed to choose which edition they wanted to be tested on. In my mind that would represents a possible alternative for any transitional period for those without an existing pass certificate. In principle, I would consider it extremely harsh to expect people who are planning to take the test in readiness for their ILR application anytime soon to buy a complete new book and to study and pass a complete new test in such a short time frame and under the pressures of possible visa expiry.
I agree it would be extremely harsh to apply the new test straight away. Surely, common sense dictates that there should be a transitional period. Sorry, did I mention common sense in a ukba related topic? How stupid of me. Mark Twain was right! On a serious note, the change isn't an unreasonable one. I can understand the logic behind it. That said, I'm sure my wife is glad she doesn't have to take the test in the future as she hates history. It was different back in 2006 and she enjoyed taking the test. My heart goes out to all you couples who are facing these tests and applications now. I know the test for many is daunting but try and stay positive. A determined attitude can take you far.
I have tried the current test a few times and it is clear that many of the questions are based on 2001 census data. As the 2011 census data will start to be released this month, the answers to questions on the current test will be outdated. Maybe the new test will completely ignore questions based on census data?
thats great if they use the census people need to know England and Wales In England and Wales 390,127 people (almost 0.8%) stated their religion as Jedi on their 2001 Census forms, surpassing Sikhism, Judaism, and Buddhism, and making it the fourth largest reported religion in the countries.[19] In the 2001 Census 2.6% of the population of Brighton claimed to be Jedi. The percentages of religious affiliations were: Personaly i think the test should be about eastenders and bigbrother that being the majority level of interlect i hear around the uk lol
